Gabourey Sidibe loved Tower Heist flirting scenes

The Oscar nominated actress stars as safe-cracking maid, Odessa, alongside the 'Shrek' star in the comedy-action movie about a group of workers at a luxury apartment complex who take revenge against their double crossing boss, and revealed she jumped at the chance to add a scene where she flirts with Eddie.

She said: ''That [flirting scene] was not written into the script at all. It was 100 per cent improvised. It was literally me flirting with Eddie Murphy.

''I was like, 'let's see what it would be like to flirt with Eddie Murphy'. I flirt with people all the time, so it wasn't that nerve-racking, but it was certainly something that I just had to dive into.''

Gabourey relished the chance to try out her comedy skills opposite funnyman Eddie.

She explained: ''He actually didn't give me pointers at all, which was really nice. I like to think that I'm funny, but you don't really know unless you're tested, and there's no bigger test than having to do a scene with Eddie Murphy, who is like the king of comedy. It really made me feel good that he didn't give me any pointers because that meant that he trusted me as an actor and that he trusted me with the material I was given.

''I was nervous about the entire thing. I still feel like I am very new on the scene as an actress, so this industry is really new to me because I never intended on being a part of it. Getting to work in a film with people that I idolise is very nerve-racking.''